Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.  Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.  Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, who acquit the guilty for a bribe, but deny justice to the innocent.  Therefore as tongues of fire lick up straw and as dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust for they have rejected the law of the Lord Almighty and spurned the word of the Holy One of Israel.  Isaiah 5:20-24  NIV

I used to be so critical of the Israelites.  I mean they spent 430 years in slavery in Egypt and God finally heard their cries and brought them out of Egypt and into the promised land.  As you may recall, that trip took 40 years.  It was a 14 day journey but for them it took 40 years due to their grumbling and repeated disobedience.  They have a history of doing well for a short period of time and then messing up again.  Sound familiar?

It occurred to me once when I was reading my Bible that I was just like the Israelites, a slow learner.  I spent many years grumbling and being disobedient and wondering why God wasn’t blessing me, duh!

In this scripture passage God is detailing the problems with his chosen people and explaining what they are doing wrong that is about to bring his wrath down on them.  When God says “woe”, he means woe.  God’s wrath is something that is not to be played with.

The Israelites are making evil acceptable and making good not acceptable.  Sound familiar?  Our nation has become more acceptable of transgender persons than persons that are not transgender.  Those of us that are heterosexual and dress according to our God-given, biological sexual orientation have less rights than those who are homosexual and cross dressers.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight.  God hates pride.  The Bible is very clear about this.  I don’t watch award shows or these reality tv shows where people can become a star over a season, but every now and then I will catch the end where they announce a winner.  I have noticed that very few thank God first and foremost.  As a matter of fact, very few thank God at all.

Woe to those who are heroes at drinking wine and champions at mixing drinks, does that sound like you?  Different religions take different views on drinking.  My husband was raised as a Catholic and they don’t preach against drinking. As a matter of fact, I was once doing some volunteer work and was serving food for a meal at a Catholic church. Being raised a Baptist and being taught that we should not drink at all,   I was shocked when someone walked up and offered me a beer right there at church. I was a Methodist for a number of years and they never really spoke against drinking. Ephesians 5:18 says “do not become drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery.  Instead, be filled with the Spirit,”.  So the Bible very clearly tells us that we are not to get drunk.  This leads many to believe that it is okay to drink so long as you don’t get drunk.  Well there are two schools of thought on this.  The first is that one drink will not get you drunk, so if you want to have a drink with dinner this is not a problem.  The other is that one drink can lead to two which can lead for four or six.  Drinking or not drinking is not about your religion it is about your relationship with the Lord.  My question to you is this, are you drinking for the feeling it gives you, that bit of relaxation, maybe to relieve some stress or try to forget some problem?  You see if that’s the case then you are using alcohol when you should be using God’s strength and power.  There is no real strength and power in alcohol or drugs.  Are you drinking because you like the taste?  Well I find that virgin versions of drinks like pina coladas and strawberry daiquiris are even tastier without the bitter taste of the alcohol.  And last but not least, if you are trying to lead someone to the Lord or you publicly profess to be a Christian, which if you are then I hope you do, what does drinking do to your witness?  If you are claiming to be a Christian then a number of people are watching and waiting for you to slip up so they can say, “see I told you he’s not really into all this religion like he says he is!”.  So what about your witness?  I know that ultimately you are going to do what you want to do with this, but I strongly suggest that you talk to God about it and follow what He says.

This scripture passage goes on to say woe to those who acquit the guilty for a bribe and deny justice to the innocent.  I live in Tangipahoa Parish Louisiana.  If you have been listening to the news about what is going on down here then, enough said.  I have seen people arrested on convoluted charges and I have seen people that seem to be untouchable even though they commit felonies and violate federal laws.  Woe unto the politicians that think this type of arrangement is okay.  They may never have to answer to a higher power here on earth but the day is coming when they will have to answer to the ultimate authority at the white throne of judgement.  I would hate to be in their shoes.

If you are one that calls evil good and good evil, that is prideful, is prone to drinking, who let the guilty walk free but punish the innocent, then I feel sorry for you.  God’s wrath is nothing to be playing with my friend.  Repent and change your ways before it is too late.

The scripture tells us that “as tongues of fire lick up straw and dry grass sinks down in the flames, so their roots will decay and their flowers blow away like dust.”  It is interesting that God used the analogy of fire to demonstrate the destruction of evil people.  In Revelation, we are told that they will be thrown into a lake of fire.  These are people who have rejected the Lord Almighty and failed to obey His commands.

You may ride high, here on planet earth.  You may impress a lot of people with your power and politics, but my friend if you don’t impress God with your love for Him and your obedience for His commands, then all this will mean nothing in the end.

My prayer for you today is that if you are involved in anything that has God saying “woe is you”, that you confess your sin, ask God for forgiveness and change your ways.  Draw close to God and He will forgive your sins and give you righteousness.

Have a great day!